Russia has invited Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) to consider buying a stake in the Magadan 2 field operated by Rosnett in the northern part of the Sea of Okhotsk. 

The Deputy Energy Minister of Ryussia Yury Sentyurin extended the invitation while speaking to reporters in New Delhi. Mr. Sennyurin said that the size of any possible stake was up for negotiation.

India which imports about 80 per cent of its oil needs is on the hunt for supplies to power its near two trillion dollar economy while Russia is keen to tap its vast offshore reserves.

Close on the heels of steep increase in diesel price and cap on supply of subsidised LPG, President Pranab Mukherjee on Monday said greater alignment of domestic rates with global prices was in the interest of both the consumers and the investors.

Inaugurating the 10th edition of Petrotech Oil and Gas Conference in New Delhi, Mr Mukherjee said that government is committed to adopt a time-bound programme to achieve this.

In an apparent reference to India's dependence on world markets to meet its energy needs, the President said that just like financial markets, the world energy markets are inherently global and interdependent, and no single country can isolate itself from the market.

AIR correspondent reports that the government had in June 2010 decontrolled petrol price and agreed to free diesel rates in a calibrated manner.

A steep 5.62 rupees per litre hike notwithstanding, diesel continues to be sold at a discount of 11.05 rupees per litre to its actual cost as international rates continue to rule high.

 India's oil import bill in terms of value increased from 409,077 crore rupees in 2009-10 to 726,386 crore rupees in 2011-12.

This increase was due to the rise in the prices of crude oil and petroleum products in the international market, depreciation of the rupee and increase in domestic consumption of petroleum products from nearly 138 million metric tonnes in 2009-10 to 148 million metric tonnes in 2011-12. This was stated by Petroleum Minister Jaipal Reddy in the Lok Sabha today.
　
In a written reply, he said consumption and exports of value-added products during 2011-12 contributed to the higher level of the country's GDP. The increase in refining capacity has reduced India's import dependency on petroleum products.

The country exported petroleum products worth two lakh eighty-four thousand and six hundred forty-three crore rupees during 2011-12, the Minister said.

 Oil India Limited plans to expand its operations in Africa, Latin America, CIS(commonwealth independent staes) countries and Australia during the 12th Plan period. In addition, it is also looking for broadening its activities in Canada and the North American region.

The public sector company invested about six hundred and eight crore rupees during the 11th Plan period on expanding its exploration activities in Libya, Gabon, Egypt, Nigeria, Yemen and Ivory Coast, all in Africa, and Iran and Venezuela.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, R.P. N. Singh in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.

Suspected Al-Qaeda militants early today blew up a pipeline pumping liquefied gas to Yemen's
southern Balhaf export terminal, causing a complete halt in operations, security officials said.
Security chief brigadier-general of Yemen said that the attack took place around 1:00 am local
time today.
Another security official accused Al-Qaeda militants, who remain active in the region, of being behind the attack.
Witnesses said that dozens of villagers fled their houses due to a raging fire caused by the explosion.
The 320-kilometre pipeline linking Marib province to Balhaf, in Yemen's mostly lawless south, has been repeatedly sabotaged by Al-Qaeda militants.

 A U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer collided with a Japanese-owned merchant vessel near the Strait of Hormuz this morning, with no injuries reported on either vessel. The USS Porter collided with the Panamanian-flagged bulk oil tanker M/V Otowasan at about 1 a.m. local time Sunday , according to the statement by the Bahrain-based Fifth fleet posted on its website.

The navy said the incident, which was not related to combat, is under investigation. Damage to the USS Porter was being evaluated, but the ship is able to operate under its own power. USS Porter is on a scheduled deployment to the U.S. b of responsibility conducting maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts, the statement said. The Strait of Hormuz, at the entrance to the Gulf, is the export route for one-third of global seaborne traded oil.

 Tanzania has said a shipping agent based in Dubai had re-flagged 36 Iranian oil tankers with the Tanzanian flag without the country's knowledge and approval. Tanzania said it was now in the process of de-registering the vessels after an investigation into the origin of the ships concluded they were originally from Iran.

Re-flagging ships masks their ownership, which could make it easier for Iran to obtain insurance and financing for the cargoes, as well as find buyers for the shipments without attracting attention from the United States and European Union. The National Iranian Tanker Company changed the names and flags of many of its oil tankers ahead of the EU ban, part of sweeping economic measures aimed at pressuring Tehran to end its nuclear programme.

State owned Oil and Natural Gas Commission - ONGC says, it has made a huge oil discovery off the West coast. In a statement today , ONGC said the new discovery was made in the currently producing D1 oilfield. The find will catapult D1 to become the third largest field in western offshore after prolific Mumbai High and Heera.

D1 is currently producing 12,500 barrels per day and its out put could go up to 60,000 or three million tonnes a year. It is situated about 200 km west of Mumbai city in Deep Continental Shelf at a water depth of 85 to 90 metres.
The first well in D1-4 block was drilled in the year 1976.

 he crude oil export earnings by the Arab world petroleum exporting nations reached its peak in 2011 by nearly $174 billion. A report by Kuwait based Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries OAPEC said the earnings soared to $624.8 billion in 2011from around $450 billion in 2010. The report said that increase in crude oil prices and a higher production by the oil exporting Arab nations were responsible for the gains in export earnings. Saudi Arabia accounted for almost half the total income while UAE gained most in terms of net income . Saudi Arabia, the number one oil power, netted nearly $289 billion last year compared with $184.4 billion in 2010. The UAE’s income swelled to an all time high of about $85.9 billion from $57.9 billion .In Kuwait the income grew to $79.6 billion from $53 billion. The earnings leaped to $27.3 billion from $20.5 billion in Qatar. It went up to $37.2 billion from $28 billion in Algeria. The report, which gave no data for Tunisia, showed the 2011 income stood at $6.3 billion in Bahrain and around $4.6 billion in Egypt. Libya was the only exception as its income tumbled in 2010 because of the uprising which ended with the death of Muammar Gaddafi. The report said that in real terms, the combined Arab income was at $479 billion in 2011, taking into account the real dollar value and global inflation. While the nominal price of OPEC’s basket of crudes was at around $107 a barrel in 2011, its real value averaged about $88 in terms of 1995 prices.

A pledge by European Central Bank president Mario Draghi to do whatever it takes to preserve the euro supported the single currency as well as crude prices in Asia today.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in September, was up nine cents to 89.48 dollar a barrel and Brent North Sea crude for September delivery gained five cents to 105.31 dollar.

Draghi's rousing vow of support for the single European currency issued late yesterday inspired crude traders to enter the market again, analysts said.

Markets cheered after European Central Bank president Mario Draghi said that the ECB is ready, within its mandate, to do whatever its takes to preserve the euro. Draghi's statements helped boost the euro against the dollar, lending support to dollar-priced oil. 

The euro was trading at 1.2277 dollar in early Asia trade today from 1.2280 dollar in overnight trade. The single currency had climbed to a two-week high of 1.2330 dollar following Draghi's pledge

Iran has decided to introduce a three-tier exchange rate system for the different categories of imports. Iranian news Agency ISNA reported that the government will provide dollars at the official rate of 12,260 Rials to import basic goods, and a rate of 15,000 rials to the dollar for capital and intermediate goods Luxury goods such as cars and dolls will be imported using dollars bought at the free market rate, making them costlier inside Iran.

Arsalan Fathipour, the head of the Parliament's economic committee said that there is no new plan for a change in the exchange rate and the Government has simply accepted the suggestion that basic goods be part of the priority imported goods and use the official rate.

Analysts say the move is an indication that the Government's stores of hard currency is under pressure from Western sanctions. The Iranian rial has lost nearly half its value and oil sales have come down. Though the official government exchange rate is 12,260 rials to the dollar the unofficial market rate at which most Iranians can access dollars is closer to 19,000 rials.

In Assam, the project “Rupaantar” (Transformation) has been able to create a social and economic transformation in the operational areas of Oil India Ltd. Particularly in Dibrugarh and Tinsukia district. The project is being jointly implemented by the Oil India Ltd and the State institute of Rural Development, Assam. 

The project is coined to eliminate poverty through income generating activities by social mobilization and capacity building among the rural people. During a short span of time of only nine years the project “Rupaantar” is now being considered as a milestone of rural development initiatives across the country.

AIR correspondent reports, In order to address the problem of growing unemployment and poverty the Oil India Ltd. has undertaken a long term project named “Rupaantar” which means Transformation. The idea of the project was to help the unemployed youth and women to find out alternate source of employment and income. 

To achieve this goal the Oil India Ltd. Has signed a memorandum of understanding with the State Institute of Rural Development (SIRD), Assam in the year 2003. Under this project Self Help Groups (SHGs) are developed and SIRD is providing these groups necessary training and technical support where the OIL is supporting them in the form of revolving fund and margin money.

The focus of the project is on development of agro-based industries, diversification of handloom products, poultry farming, pig breeding, duck rearing, fishery, sericulture, organic farming etc.

Till date over 2(two) thousand Self Help groups are formed and a large number among them are getting financial support from various banks.

This joint project of OIL and SIRD has not only helped in enhancing the income level of the rural people but also built a good rapport between authorities and the beneficiaries.

United Arab Emirates shipped its first oil cargo from its Fujirah oil export terminal on Sunday bye passing the strait of Hormuz to Pakistan. The export terminal has the capacity to pump up to 1.8 million barrels per day. Exports from the new facility would start at a few hundred thousand barrels a day and rise gradually over the next few months. 

Until now, the UAE, like Qatar and Kuwait, had been entirely dependent on Strait of Hormuz to export its crude.The Fujirah pipeline ends its dependence on the strait of Hormuz. The 370-km Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline carries oil from fields in the UAE's western desert to Fujairah, a major oil storage and fuel bunkering hub on the east coast. The new terminal has eight crude oil storage tanks each with a capacity of one million barrel. The bulk of UAE's oil is exported to Asia.

The move is significant in the context of repeated warnings of closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran over the sanctions imposed by the western nations. Flows through the Strait of Hormuz last year accounted for almost 20 percent of oil traded worldwide.

The UAE Oil Minister Mohammed bin Dhaen al-Hamli said that it is a very strategic project which gives the options to its clients to transport larger quantities of oil.

He underlined the importance of the project by saying that it is a complementary project so that it has an alternative choice for more than one trade route. The head of state-run Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC) Abdulla Nasser Al Suwaidi, said it will make other projects viable in the area, and will also avoid more insurance and will give access to the open sea.

Eight Indian companies have made the cut in the list of world's 500 largest companies compiled by Fortune magazine, with Indian Oil finding a place in the top 100.
Out of the eight, five are state-run entities. With an annual revenue of 86000 million dollars Indian Oil has cornered the 83rd spot up from 98th place last year. Reliance Industries is the first Indian private firm to made into the top 100 list.
Besides IOC and RIL, the other Indian companies in the list are steel-maker Tata Steel , auto company Tata Motors , oil entities Bharat Petroleum , Hindustan Petroleum and Oil & Natural Gas and Public Sector Bank ,State Bank of India .

The deadline for the US legislation which calls for action against countries buying large volumes of Iranian oil through the Central Bank Of Iran comes to an end today. The law authorizes the US President to cut off the financial institutions US President Obama gains authority to impose sanctions on countries doing oil deals with Iran’s central bank from today.

17 countries including India, Japan, Turkey etc. have been granted waivers from sanctions by US because of reducing the purchases of Iranian oil significant reductions The European Union’s full oil embargo against Iran which was approved in January comes into effect on Sunday.

Iran has asked EU to reconsider the oil embargo. Iranian Foreign Minster Ali Akbar Salehi told reporters in Cyprus that EU should look into the matter with more rationality and wisdom since nobody benefits from confrontations.

South Korea has said it will suspend all imports of Iranian oil from July 1 amid a European Union (EU) insurance ban on vessels carrying the product. The insurance ban is part of a series of measures taken by the EU and the US to hurt Iran's oil exports. Oil is a major source of revenue for Tehran, and the EU and US have been trying to use it as a tool to persuade Iran to give up its nuclear programme. South Korea is the first major Asian economy to halt oil imports from Iran.

he Aviation Turbine Fuel, ATF or jet fuel prices were today reduced by a massive 5 per cent, the steepest reduction in rates since February 2010. According to an Indian Oil Corporation, the price of ATF in Delhi was reduced by 3,260 rupees per kl to 62,410 rupees per kl with effect from midnight tonight.

The fifth straight cut in jet fuel rates since mid-April, is the steepest reduction in price in 27 months. State-owned oil firms had on June 1 slashed rates by 2 per cent 1,376.81 per kl and 753.8 per kl cut in prices in three previous fortnights.

After today's reduction, ATF price have come down to November 2011 levels after hitting a high of around 67,800 on 1st of April this year. In Mumbai, jet fuel will cost 63,178 rupees per kl as against 66,587.90 rupees a kl now.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC has decided to maintain the ceiling of 30 million barrels oil production per day for the member nations.

At a meeting in Vienna yesterday, the 12 nation group agreed not to increase the oil production as demanded by some members.

OPEC is already producing around 31.8 million barrels per day with increased output from Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Libya.

Crude oil fell for a fifth day on the NYMEX, to the lowest price in almost eight months on signs of an economic slowdown in the U.S. and China.

China’s purchasing managers’ index for non-manufacturing industries fell to the lowest level in a year, the National Bureau of Statistics and China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said in Beijing.

Oil for July delivery lost 2.02 dollars to 81.21 dollars a barrel in electronic trading on the NYMEX.

Brent futures for July settlement slipped 2.3 percent to 96.20 dollars a barrel, on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.

India will sign a long-awaited agreement today to buy natural gas from Turkmenistan through a pipeline that would cross Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Official sources said in New Delhi yesterday that Oil Minister S Jaipal Reddy has left for Ashgabat via Amritsar for the signing of the agreement.

Turkmenistan ,Afghanistan, Pakistan and India will sign the gas sales and purchase agreement for TAPI pipeline during an international gas conference in the Caspian Sea resort of Avaza.

AShgabat